cbowley



J. C. CROWLEY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKINQ SHEET GLASS.

APPLICATION man MAY 8.1922.

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/M/f/vro@ -Reissued Sept. 12, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.TOI-IN C. CROWLEY. 0F CLEVELAND .`OHIO. ASSIGNOR TO THE LIBBEY-OWENS SHEET GLASS COMPANY, OF TOLEDO. OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEET GLASS.

Original No. 1.342,533, dated June' 8. 1920. Serial No. 243,981, tiled July 8. 1918. Application for issue filed May 8. 1922. Serial No. 559,431.

To nl] Hzom it may emi/fern.'

Be it known that l. .lonsY ("A.L aowLEYrot Cleveland. Ohio. count)v of Cuyahoga; and State of Ohio. have invented a new and useful Proeess and Apparatus for Making Sheet Glass. whieh invention is t'nllyset. forth in the following speeifieation.

This invention relates to the art of drawing glass in sheet form from a mass of molten glass. and more partieularly. it'relates to the usage of an endlessmetal helt upon whieh the sheet is drawn and jhent..

to side holding deviees as a meehanieal means of sheet control and to the fire boxes. that govern the is being drawn. l

M v experienee with glass shows elearl)Y that the sheet glass pro'eess is eheaper than any and all other proeesses. (lr. in other words. sheet glass ean he iliade at a tar less rost than glass made in a e \'linder form. This is heeause in the sheet glass proeess skilled lahor is not needed. the produetion is large ami the method is automatie'and eontimions. The ohjeet olE thisl invention is therefore to provide and ereate a suhstantiall \Y eontinnous sheet glass maehine.

Figure l isa longitudinal seetion through the maehine aml adjoining portions ot'the tank and the lehr. Figui is a seetion 2 2 oll Fig. l. Fig. Ii is a partial seetion il il ol' Fig. l showing theedge holding'deriee. Fig. -t is a plan view olI Fig- Il.- l"ig. 5 i.; ya perspective sketeh of the endless hell. Fig. ti is a sert-ion (3.-0 of Fig. l and shows the partitional hoxes.

Referring to ["igs. l to (l. the reference numeral l indieates a mass oll molten glassl whieh may he su|wrheated h v means of heat from the furnaee l2 ami ,the lire hox -l-. 'lhe tire hox -t has a series oll hurner holes 5^. lot-ated in a suitahle and a low position. through whieh the hurners dirert the fluid lllel. 'l'he rover Il of the lire hox l lorms a portion oll the hottom of the reeeptarle whieh eoutains the molten glass l. 'l`he glass l is rorered. exeepting a slot. through whirh the sheet is drawn. 'lhe ehamhers l mayY he used to regulate the temperature ol the surl'aee oli the glass. 'l`he drums l5 extend aeross the inside and through the maehine and are plared a suitahle distanee apart. 'l`he rollers l-t also ex. tend. across the. inside a'nd through the maplastjiit'y o't` the sheetfas it.

-Q after it is bent.

less metal helt 13 is plaeed around thedrmns 15 and stretehed to a tension neeessary for running eonditions. The roller? keep the upper portion of the helt 13 from sagging. Both drums 15 are mounted on power shafts. The lehr Q0 eontains drivingl rollers 19. The drat't ehains 16 are driven hy sprockets 17. The drum 1S is an idler. The helt 13 and draft ehains 16 are contained within the refractory walls Q2 of the. maehine. The fire hoX 'i is used to heat the sheet 2 hetorev it is lient. The hurners 1t) direetitheir heating tluid through the holes 10A. The re hoi?? is used to heat the sheet The hui-ners 9 direet their heat' through the holes 9^. loth tire hox'es are partitioned as indu-ated h v Fig. 6. 'l`he hanging hloek 1l has a two told purpose. 1t ma \v he used as a plug to stop the. glass 1 whenever it is neeessar;Y to replace the eover l. andas shown. its purpose is to regulate the heatand dra tt ot` the tank 12 from the ehamher (L rl`he edge holding deviee eonsists of two endless ehains. 255 mounted on sprorkets "2l the latter heing' driven hy gears L29. rl`he guide l'rames' pivot on the` pin QS and are vforeed together umler tension h v means ot' the spring El() and theserew 27.

llaring deserihed my invention. what is rlaimed isr- 1. In an apparatus tor drawing sheet glass. a reeeptaele tor eontaining a prepared mass ot molten glass. mans. ineluding an endless metal heit earrier for drawing al eontinnous sheet otl glass t'rom the mass of glass in said reeeptaele. said metal helt earrier heing the means 'for heading the sheet. the means vfor supporting and earrying the sheet and the means for tlatteningthe sheet. said metal helt carrier eontinuousl)v eontaeting the sheet of glass l'ron' the. moment that the sheet starts to heno until it is sullieiently tlattened and set; l'or the lehr. and means l'or holding linde! tension a desired vertieal length ot the sheet`sl edge. 't'or maintaining a predetermined width of tlux sheet drawn.

2. ln` an apparatus lor drawingr sheet glass. a rereptarle for eontaining a mass of prepared molten glass. an endless metal heltl haring an entirely smooth and flat outside v tively horizontal plane so as to furnish means of support to the drawn sheet continuously and constantly from the beginning of the bend until the desired hardness and liatness is attained, endless chains continuously moving with and weighing down upon the edges of the sheet and together with the continuously moving belt forming the necessary means for drawing the sheet .of glass, and means tor maintaining the width of the sheet during its upward travel.

4.' In an apparatus for drawing sheet glass, a receptacle forcontaining a prepared mass of molten glass, drawing meanscon-A sisting of an endless continuously"moving metal Jbelt, the sheet-contactingfffsurtace of which is entirely flat and smooth.` and means holding the edges of the upper run of the sheet in drawing contact with the belt, the belt being so located that glass may be drawn upward from the receptacle, bent over one end of the belt, and flattened upon the upper run of the belt.

In an apparatus for drawing lsheet glass, a receptacle for containing a prepared mass of molten glass, drawing means consisting of an endless continuously moving metal belt having a continuous and smooth sheet-contacting surface, the belt being so located that glass may be drawn upward 'from the receptaelefbent over one end ot thebelt, and flattened upon the upper. run ol the belt. means holding the edges of the upper run of the sheet lin drawing contact with the belt,

i ,and means for maintaining the width of the sheet during its upward travel.

'6.111 an apparatus for drawing continuous sheet glass, the combination with a receptacle containing molten glass, of an endless metal helthaving a llat and smooth sheet-carrying surface. a plurality ot drums about which the belt is looped so that the upper run o'lf'the hclt forms a substantially horizontal surface. means within the loop for supporting thc upper horizontal 11u11 of the belt. om ot the drums being mounted above the receptacle. and the belt being so driven that the upper run ol the belt continually recedcs lroln the receptacle. the glass sheet heingdrawn up trom the receptacle, ben/ to l'orm a llat .support for the drawn sheetin the horizontal plane until the sheet becomes hard and set.

'lhe process ol' drawing glass in sheet l'orm l'rom a mass of molten glass. consisting in continuously drawing tlu` sheet npwardly trom theI molten mass, carrying the unhrolmi sheet trom the vertical to a hori zontal planeI on a smooth metallic surface moving with the sheet, supporting the sheet directly on this metallic surface until it is set in flat sheet form, and then conveying the sheet oil into a leer.

E). The process of drawing sheet glass, consisting in continuously drawing the sheet upwardly from a mass of molten glass, bending the glass into the horizontal plane, flattening it in the horizontal plane and carrying it away into a leer, the sheet being directly suppmfted during the bending and flattening operations on the smooth surface ol" an endless metallic belt moving with the sheet.

Signedat Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, this lstday ot' May, 1922.

' JQHN C. CROWLEY. 

